Faithful sex halves stroke risk

Sex is great for a man's heart - but only if he's being faithful, experts have claimed.

Men can halve the risk of a major heart attack or stroke by having sex three or four times a week, research has revealed. But another study has found a possible link between the stress of infidelity and a higher risk of suffering a stroke.

Men who see themselves as athletic in bed will be heartened by University of Bristol research which has led doctors to argue that sex is as good for you as a game of squash or a long run.

Heart specialist Professor Shah Ebrahim told the World Stroke Congress in Melbourne, Australia, that a study of 2,400 men in the Welsh town of Caerphilly had forced doctors to redefine the relationship between exercise and the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

In the past, medics believed that aerobic activity lasting 20 minutes or longer which raises the heart beat was a key way of protecting men from heart disease, which is Britain's biggest killer.

The most recent guidelines from the British Heart Foundation have increased that recommended exercise level to 30 minutes of moderate activity at least five times a week.

Sex also raises the heart rate but although the effect is not as sustained as working out or running, it still seems to provide health benefits.

It is not known if the protective effect on the heart of regular lovemaking extends to women. However, men can effectively wipe out the health benefits of regular sex by straying, according to a study in Tokyo.

Dr Izumi Toyoda studied the backgrounds of 42 people who had fatal strokes while having sex and found almost half were being unfaithful to their wives or were with prostitutes at the time.